Texas A&M among series of statewide campus ‘swatting’ calls

BRYAN, Texas (KBTX) - An active shooter threat at Texas A&M University’s Health Science Center has been deemed a hoax, according to Texas A&M Police.

Texas A&M University Police and law enforcement from across Brazos County responded around 10:30 a.m. after a caller said there were mass casualties from an active shooter in a laboratory at the Health Science Center. This follows a trend of other hoax calls that came in today to Baylor University, Collin College Plano Campus, Texas Wesleyan University, Del Mar College in Corpus Christi and the Galen College of Nursing School in San Antonio.

Police believe the same person called made all of these hoax calls.

Law enforcement officials have stressed the devastating consequences that can result from such hoaxes, and warn that those responsible can face felony charges.

“It can be very dangerous for everybody involved especially if none of that’s going on. It can put people at risk that don’t need to be put at risk,” said Brazos County Sheriff’s Deputy David Wilcox.

“While these kinds of calls often turn out to be false, the response from law enforcement is certainly not,” Wilcox said. “We’re going to treat it like it’s an active attack event so we’re going to be sending all of our deputies wherever that may be.”

Wilcox says there is also a potential danger for people at the location of the hoax call as well as law enforcement and first responders.

“All of the deputies responding, they’re going to be traveling in their vehicles at high rates of speed, trying to get there. When they arrive, they’re expecting to see all sorts of tragedy and terrible things happening,” Wilcox explained.

“They’re going to be put in a situation where they are also in fear. They’re going to be told to evacuate and things like that, and that has consequences for their mental health. It puts a lot of stress on both the officers and the community and all of our emergency response systems,” Wilcox added.

Swatting calls are a dangerous trend that has been rising among young people across the country. Law enforcement say these hoaxes come with devastating consequences for all involved, and can be charged as a felony.

This article will be updated when more information is available.

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